The Website of Author Sarah Parke

Finding the Right Writing Space

As I become more serious about my writing habits, I find that I’m increasingly curious about the writing habits of others. I read once that Philip Pullman (a childhood favorite) wrote his daily pages in a shed in his back garden. For a lot of writers, writing is very private, fragile, and solitary work. It might not require a lot of space or fancy materials, but my writing does require a quiet space with few distractions, a blank word document (or a notebook and pen), some post-it notes for jotting down ideas, and sometimes motivational music (I like Florence + the Machine for my current WIP). My apartment doesn’t have a separate office space; my boyfriend has already comandeered the nook off the kitchen for his home office. But our bedroom is pretty large and located at the front of the house where there is plenty of light. With some rearranging, I cleared a space in the bedroom beneath the slanted ceiling. Then I searched the local thrift stores (Goodwill and Savers are great for finding well-loved furniture) for what I kept calling “a writing surface with character”. I finally found the perfect writing table on Craigslist and got it for a steal ($35). It has a vintage sort of look, and I like to imagine it once belonged to some famous American writer.

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The bookcase was my boyfriend’s, but he gave it to me so I can take my books out of “book jail” (the sterilite container they were stored in during our latest move). The pink file crate on the floor is left-over from my classroom days, and it is very helpful for storing hard copies of my manuscripts and their revisions. One of these days I hope to decorate the space above my desk with inspirational quotes about writing and other odds and ends. Ignore my cat’s head.

Having my own dedicated writing space (after spending months living in my boyfriend’s childhood bedroom) is very refreshing and makes me feel more like a professional writer. But, just because I have the space to work, doesn’t mean I have suddenly become a disciplined novelist. Alas, Pinterest still exists.

So, while procrastinating on my own writing, I searched Pinterest for some images of other writing spaces. They are as varied as the writers themselves. Here are a few:

I like the fancy chair and chandelier in this oneI’m going to steal the clothes line idea

Minimalist with pops of color!

My writing space is still a work in progress, but then again so is my writing.